A Man of Action
by scoob2222
Summary: Jack is a man of action. And he's about to act on his feeling for Chloe.


Title: Man of Action

Rating: T for language

A/N: This is a companion/re-mix of Grayword-Girls/doi2life's fic "Restless Thoughts." It's here at FFN. This is basically a version of her story from Jack's pov. You don't have to read her story to understand mine, but it's an awesome story and why wouldn't you read it.

Jack Bauer was a deliberate man. He didn't do things accidentally. He was very clear when he made his decisions.

And on that night several months ago, he had firmly decided to fall asleep on Chloe O'Brien's couch.

And later that night, when she came in, he decided to pretend to still be asleep. It would have been awkward to wake up then. He would have had to give himself up, maybe even leave. So instead he had forced himself not to smile as she laid the blanket over him. Forced himself not to squirm as he heard the sounds of her changing in the next room, as he pictured her sliding into bed, her body warm and inviting.

And an hour later he decided to screw caution, the consequences, and his lingering relationships issues and crawl into bed with her.

She turned into him almost immediately, relaxing her body next to his, not even flinching as he wrapped his arm around her waist. He wanted to believe that this was all because she somehow knew it was him. She was never this trusting, even in sleep. At the office, she slept like him, always ready for something to happen, always ready for possible attack. But here, now her body was soft and pliant and in a moment she erased every stress of the day, pulling him into sleep with her.

And just like that their relationship changed again. They weren't the kind of people who changed slowly or over time, their changes came like the switch of a light, one moment they were friends, the next they were—more.

What exactly more meant, he never really considered. He just knew that every night, instead of going home to an apartment, where there was nothing but empty spaces filled with all he lost, he went to a home. A place where someone waited for him. Sometimes she was already asleep, and he would quietly climb in next to her. She was always warm and solid and real. Sometimes she was up, making things out of spare computer parts or just laying awake waiting for him to come home.

It seemed so natural that he never really considered the fact that they had never discussed it. Never considered that she might not know what he felt. Despite her lack of social skills, she always seemed able to read his mind. So he was somewhat surprised the night she asked him, "What are we doing?"

And, "Excuse me?" was the best he could come up with.

"Us. Here. What are we doing?" she waved her hands around a bit for emphasis, but he was still having trouble comprehending.

"You need to be more specific."

He had been spooning her when he woke up and found her body stiff and her mind occupied, but now she shifted, turned to face him, "You and me. Why are we always… like _this_?" she stopped, obviously frustrated with her terrible diplomatic skills. She gave a sigh, and then tried again. "What am I to you?"

He still wasn't sure what she was asking, and said so, "You're Chloe O'Brian, the _only_ woman who can confuse me without trying."

The look she gave him told him she was unimpressed by his attempt at humor. He watched as she bit her lip, a sure sign that she was not just unsure, but very unsure. "Not like that. I mean… I mean relationship wise." She paused, and then continued. "Our relationship. How would you describe it?"

He was silent for a moment, wondering how she could not know, before realizing how stupid he was. She might anticipate his every move in the field, might know him better than even he knew himself at times, but she wasn't psychic. She couldn't know what he didn't tell her. But he didn't say all of that to her, he just chuckled and said, "Is that what you've been worried about?" she nodded, and he reached out and brushed a few strands of her soft blonde hair out of her face. "I guess I was never very clear about that."

And, being a man of decisive action, he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her softly, but deeply, coaxing her mouth open gently. She gave him control, going limp along side him, allowing him to take the kiss wherever he wanted. When he pulled back he kept his hands on her face, his thumbs caressing her skin softly.

"Are you sure?" she whispered, and he could feel the stupid grin on his face.

"Very."

He kissed her again, and let his actions prove how very sure he was.


End file.
